Man in the middle

Against his will and to his detriment, Minister Without Portfolio Ze’ev Binyamin (Benny) Begin (Likud) got caught in the eye of the storm engulfing the evacuation of the illegal outpost Migron. Begin wanted to help in returning (apparently) private land to its Palestinian owners in accordance with a High Court of Justice ruling. He conducted painstaking and exhausting negotiations with the settlers.

However, Chief Justice Asher Grunis and his colleagues Miriam Naor and Salim Joubran did not accept the agreement Begin reached with Migron’s residents – mainly because the settlers’ foot-dragging since 2006 raised suspicions that they may be planning another ruse to avoid evacuation in 2015 (the date outlined in the new compromise).

Begin immediately became a target for attacks. Newspaper columnist Nehemia Strasler slandered him from the Left, accusing Begin of being dishonest and of being in cahoots with the settlers so deeply hated by Haaretz. It also became clear that Begin is disliked by the rightist camp of Likud member Moshe Feiglin. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan share Feiglin’s political ideology, but Begin – who in 2009 was asked to return to politics and to the Likud to emphasize its commitment to the concept of Greater Israel – has no place there. As Shabbat approaches, Begin will be able to sigh and reflect on how he is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The younger Begin is a reflection of his father Menachem Begin’s heritage. He aspires for nationalism to coexist with liberalism, for the love of the land to go hand in hand with the supremacy of the rule of law – but these things aren’t always compatible.

Begin, the Migron settlers and the State Prosecutor’s Office jointly turned to the High Court, knowing that their late request might not be accepted. Their proposal included the possibility that the settlers might need to relocate to a temporary abode en route to their permanent residence in Givat Hayekev. If that’s the case, what are they complaining about now?

The state has declared Migron privately owned Palestinian land, and the outpost damages Israel’s reputation internationally. Refusing to evacuate breaks rules that preserve the nation’s unity under the protection of the High Court. The U.N. Human Rights Council has recently established an anti-Israel “fact-finding committee” to examine the settlements – and the residents of those same settlements are asking the state to deem the law null and void when a judicial ruling favors the Palestinians? To make matters worse, a law has also been proposed that allows for the theft of private Palestinian land in exchange for retroactive compensation. At a time when Israel is successfully working to impose sanctions on Iran, there is no greater folly than renewing the dispute with Europe over what poet Shaul Tchernichovsky called “a bald rocky mountain.”

However, this issue is also a problem domestically. Professors Zohar and Jacob Shavit added fuel to Strasler’s fire by publishing a shocking article calling for the creation of “the state of the Land of Israel” alongside the state of Israel. Nearly 3,000 years after the rift that culminated in the destruction of the biblical kingdom of Israel, another proposal arises to divide the nation. No, thanks. Really.

One can understand the concern among Migron’s residents. Yet we need to know that they are not only deserving citizens and our brethren, but also law-abiding citizens. Despite outrageous warnings from National Union MK Aryeh Eldad about potential bloodshed, Migron will not be a repeat of Amona (another outpost evacuated in 2006 with resulting clashes between settlers and police). Horseshoes will not be splattered with blood unless settlers from outside Migron who exact “price-tag” attacks take over the event with the express purpose of inciting violence.

This also goes against the legacy of Menachem Begin, who during even more difficult times tried to instill the next generation of Jews with an eternal rule: civil war – never.

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